Caro Southcombe

I’m Caro, a relational integrative therapist and a registered member of the BACP. I offer a steady, confidential space where we can explore what has shaped your inner world and how it continues to affect your life now. I am available on weekdays and some evenings in central Exeter, and online throughout the UK via Google Meet.

My work is relational and compassion-focused, informed by an understanding of attachment and the different parts of us that carry fear, anger, shame, or vulnerability. In therapy, we pay attention to these inner voices with care and curiosity, including protective or critical parts that may once have kept you safe, even if they now feel overwhelming or limiting. Over time, this can help you feel steadier and more at ease with yourself and with other people.

Therapy with me is engaged, collaborative, and grounded in real conversation. I won’t analyse you from a distance or leave you in awkward silence. While the work can involve painful or complex material, I aim to be down-to-earth and human in how we talk, and there will be plenty of warmth and some moments of humour alongside the difficult parts.

We’ll work at a pace that feels safe enough, paying attention to what emerges between us as well as to your life outside the room. This may include gently exploring early relationships, noticing how old patterns are activated in the present, and developing new ways of responding when difficult feelings arise.

I work with adults of all ages, including those who have had to navigate complex family dynamics and are affected by anxiety, burnout, grief and trauma.

My practice is trauma informed and neurodivergent affirming.

Our first session can be a place where you are able to say things that have been weighing on you, at your own pace. You may come with a clear sense of what is contributing to feelings of anxiety or low mood, or simply a sense that something is not quite right. My role is to offer a safe, supportive space where we can begin to understand what is happening and decide together whether a short-term, goal-focused approach or longer-term therapeutic work would feel most helpful for you.